When the Twist of Fate Comes Back Around
by TheLadyStrange
Summary: Ironstrange Reincarnation AU: Tony and Stephen are reborn over and over, always getting their memories of their previous lives when they first meet in each life. But a twist of fate tears them apart.
1. Chapter 1

Walking the boundary of the great city as was his habit, Antonious was present to witness the strange local storm that struck the river and left an unusual object in its wake. Unable to help himself he approached the deep red lump that lay half in the water and was shocked to discover that it was a man...a beautiful man...who looked so familiar...His hands came up to clutch his suddenly aching head, and he sank to his knees on the riverbed as memories flooded him. Stephanos, Tornoni, Stefan, Antori, Serriphen, Attonic, Strano, Tonnio, Sterani, all the previous lives they have lived and loved together. He came back to himself to find tears upon his face and looked down to promptly scramble to care for his beloved.

His beloved wore unusual clothes and far more layers than himself, and he could have sworn that the red cape he wore had moved on its own. He carried, well he had been Sterani last time, back to his home slowly, both in a desire not to be seen and asked questions until he had asked his own and because he could hardly tear his eyes away from Sterani long enough to watch his step. Sterani looked very different from their last life, no longer short of stature and having black hair with such majestic bars of white adorning his temples. His heart ached for Sterani to wake and get his own memories and to see what color his eyes bore in this life. Antonious did not even realize that he wept as he gazed upon Sterani until the liquid became too much to clearly see his soulmate.

He stopped then, pressing his face into the curve of Sterani's neck and praising every god he knew that he had had the other half of his soul returned. The sun had begun to set by the time he made it to his simple home and lay his still unconscious burden upon the bed and looked at the wet clothes he still wore. It would not do for his beloved to get a chill from the water in which he had lain, but when he tried to pull away the heavy red cloth it would not budge! He carefully tugged harder and harder still, only to jump back and fall back onto his tailbone in shock as a corner of the cloth slapped at his hand.

His eyes were wide in shock and he breathed heavily as he sought to breathe through the fearful thoughts running through his mind _had his love angered one of the gods? Is he under a spell? What demon controls that fabric, red as blood?_ He only calmed when he saw that his love was moving, shifting against the bed and groaning softly. He took note of the breathless-ness Sterani had as his eyes finally began to move and flicker open. Oh, his love held the very ocean in his eyes.

But that ocean quickly turned into a riling whirlpool of pain and shaking hands gripped his head, his expression agony. Antonious felt pain again in the face of his lover's torment and surged forward to hold him steady, mindless of the cloth slapping what it could reach of him.

"Attonic?"

"I am here love. We are together again."

"Where...where are we…?"

"Rome, my dearest. And I am Antonious is this life."

"Stephen,..I am Stephen. I am not supposed to be here."

"I will not let a soul know of your presence. I swear it on all the gods." He held Stephen close as they both began to weep, so full of joy they could not contain it. They had found each other at last. Eventually, Stephen pulled back, the cloak wiping the tears from his face, an odd look coming over the other's face at the movement.

"Oh," Stephen sniffled, a hand coming up to rub his face. "This is Sophie, the Cloak of Levitation. She protects me."

"What do you need protection from? Where did...she come from? What is she made of? Will..."

"Wait, wait. There are lots of things she protects me from. She chose me when I walked by the case she had been in. I assume she is made of cloth but I haven't asked her." Stephen sighed heavily at trying to tell his love about the future and in the same thought realising that if he did he would mess up time. "Antonious, I am not supposed to be here. There is so much I can't tell you. What I can tell you though is that I love you. Oh, how I wish you had been there for this life of mine… I"

Antonious pulled him close, cutting off the sudden flow of words to press kisses to his hair and stroke his back. "And I love you Stephen. Don't worry that there is so much you cannot tell me. You can always tell me in the next life. Or the one after that." He pressed a kiss to Stephen's lips. "Are you hungry my love?" A sniffled barely audible yes was his answer.

He took Stephen to sit at his simply hewn wooden table and laid food before him from his shelves, dried meats, fruits, nuts, and a small block of cheese. He would need to visit the market tomorrow now that he had another mouth to feed. They ate in silence, basking in the presence of the other and seeing how much they had changed since their past life.

Antonious was so tall in this life, his hair falling to his shoulders in thick ebony locks, and eyes so brilliant a green as to put the Eye about his neck to shame. The thought had Stephen putting a hand to it, turning his eyes towards the table as he contemplated the idea that it had brought him here, the spell he had been hit with mixing with the time energies to move him through space and time. His eyes flicked back up to meet with the concerned eyes of his beloved and thank all the deities he knew that he had been brought here, to Antonious. He smiled softly to easy Antonious's mind and swallowed his last bite before looking about the room. It was a single room home, a large bed on one wall, bracketed by two windows, one with a large chest lying beneath it, a door on the wall to the left and one to the right. The table they sat at was directly opposite the bed and Stephen blushed at the thought of sharing a bed with Antonious again, thousands upon thousands of nights flitting through his mind and making him warm.

"So," Stephen coughed, "I am quite tired from my...journey."

"Then we shall rest." Antonious could see that Stephen was overwhelmed and to be honest so was he, he had only had his memories a few hours more than his love. They rose and walked towards the bed, Sophie leaving Stephen to float quietly in a corner of the room. Antonious hardly needed any prompting to help Stephen undress after he had taken off his bright gloves and revealed the web of scars that adorned delicate fingers. He pressed delicate kisses to Stephen's cheeks as he gently unwound the various belts and eased the outermost layers of his unusual clothes off and draped them over the large chest.

He smoothed his hands down Stephen's chest and quietly asked if he wanted him to keep his shift on, knowing Stephen remembered his preference of sleeping in the nude. A gorgeous blush came up on those high cheekbones and the chest under his hands heaved with laughter.

"No, my love. You may sleep as you always have but I would prefer to stay clothed for now. We are only sleeping after all." The cheeky grin at his words had Antonious laughing as he pulled away to turn down the bed-clothes and climb in, Stephen following quickly on the other half of the bed.

"Stephen?"

"Hmmm?"

"May I hold you?"

"Always, beloved." Antonious pressed himself against Stephen's back, burying his face in the ebony strands and breathing in the presence of his love as they drift off to dream of each other.


	2. Chapter 2

The heat upon his face caused Stephen to stir, opening his eyes to the bright glare of the morning sun through the east window. A greater heat to his back had him turning in the embrace he now felt about him and looking upon Antonious's slumbering face. A hand rose, nearly of its own accord, to delicately stroke the other's face. Memorizing the face of the soul he had known for millennia, and feeling still more tears fill his eyes in joy. He turned back around to press his back against Antonious's chest and smooth his hands over the arms about him.

Antonious, the last...no he couldn't be the latest incarnation, since Stephen is from the future...He had not remembered until now...and Antonious, this was their first meeting in his life...but what about the future...where was Anton...Anthony, Tony. Tony had known such much about him, personal things, Tony hadn't known about his childhood in Nebraska, but had known how much he liked flowers and of his want to heal, and even of his deep desire to just be held. Tony had remembered...But why hadn't Stephen? Perhaps….

"Good morning, my love." came Antonious' words in a mere breath against his throat and drawing a deep shiver through him. Stephen pushed back and twisted just enough to kiss Antonious deeply, feeling strong arms tighten about him in his passion.

"Good morning, beloved." Stephen sighed as they parted for breath. A slow smile spread over Antonious's face and he leaned forward to press their foreheads together as his love laughed heartily. Antonious tightened his grip again, this time in a brief hug before pulling away and getting out of the bed. He sauntered across the room, uncaring of the excellent view he gave Stephen as he remained in his sleepwear. Stephen found his eyes dropping without conscious decision and licked his lips at the beauty of his love.

Antonious wandered back to the bed with a skin of water and a small plate of bread and cheese for them to break their fast. He told Stephen of his intentions to go to the market today and stock up on food for the two of them. Asking how long they would have in response to Stephen's quiet murmur that he could not stay.

"I'm not sure how long I will be here. But I must get back, there is grave danger for my comrades and I cannot abandon them selfishly." Antonious's serious nod quieted Stephen's previously unknown fears and his next words lifted his heart.

"Then we had best make the most of what time we have together. I shall go to the market first thing and get us plenty of supplies."

And that was how the morning passed. Antonious, dressed once more, departed with a woven bag and a cheery wave to Stephen as he closed the door behind him. Stephen passed the few hours he was gone by taking a deep look into his memories as he meditated on the bed. The things he knew were few but he had ideas of what could have made the future what it was.

1\. Antonious was his soulmate.

2\. They are reborn every life and regain their memories on their first meeting.

3\. His first meeting with his soulmate had been when? Yesterday or a day in the future but no memories regained.

4\. Antonious had had his memories returned yesterday, so that had been his first meeting with his soulmate, but what of Stephen's rebirth in this life?

5\. He remembered the fall of Rome...he had been one of the attackers...and he could not recall ever meeting Antonious….he had never regained his memories in that life.

6\. The life after this he had been a farmer….had never left his family's farm….had never gotten his memories then either. Then he had been born Stephen Strange.

7\. Tony,...Tony must be one of the next lives of why didn't they get their memories when they met at the gala? Or had only Tony regained his memories? There were things he had known….

8\. He hated time-travel. This must be why. He had traveled back in time and therefore chronologically this was his first meeting with his soulmate AND this was the first time Tony/Antonious had met Stephen's current life. Tony remembered because they had already met but for Stephen, they hadn't…..

9\. If Tony remembered…had he remembered the previous life too? The one they had never met in? Or had he wandered around alone with all those memories by himself?

10\. Had he recognized that the Stephen of this life and that one were the same?...No, he hadn't known his name...hadn't known what his profession was...

"Sophie what am I supposed to do? Tony and I broke up! I hadn't known! God, I must have hurt him so badly. I can't do that again." Stephen took several long slow breaths to ease himself back to the present and focus on the here and now. He got up from the bed and went over to the chest to look through it. It was with great luck that he found a large extra blanket. He shook it out and laid it carefully on the floor in the center of the room. He placed plates and cups and a cloth napkin and nodded to himself, pleased. Then he turned his attention on himself. He wore only the innermost tunic, and it was a simple shift that would not suffice for his plans. He put on the outermost layer instead, leaving his chest bared in a long V and used only his widest belt to cinch it tightly and shrink his waist just a bit. His trousers he could not change nor his boots which he left off along with his socks to allow pale feet to press against the cool sand. He looked to Sophie with a 'well, what do you think' air and received a swoosh of approval from the crimson cloth. He was as ready as he could be.

He paced the room the rest of the morning, and upon catching sight of Antonious through the window threw himself down upon the blanket in the most suave, sexy, and casual pose he could think of. Antonious opened the door only to pause immediately at the sight presented. His love...his beautiful love set to dine with him upon a blanket dressed in...what he wore did not matter so much to Antonious as much as Stephen's intentions. And he certainly approved of those intentions. They dined without silence this time, the air filled with them reminiscing of the past and of their dreams for the future, though Stephen was quiet on much of his present life. Antonious though had experienced enough in his current life to keep Stephen enraptured until he fell asleep there on the blanket and was carried to the bed.

The next few months passed in a similar manner, dinners together, for one Antonious was able to procure some candles and watched Stephen's face light up with them. They took many walks on the countryside, far from the city and its watchful eyes. Antonious furthermore took delight in giving Stephen small trinkets he had found, including a beautiful ring of silver and copper that Stephen wore from that day forth. In turn, Stephen taught him the names of the stars and the bones of the body and so many other incredible things. Antonious delighted in Stephen's improving health as the months wore on, no longer so terribly thin, and found himself unable to keep his eyes off of his love. And finally one beautiful night, the sun's heat still filling the air, it all came together…

...the heat of two destined souls combining, sliding, oh so slowly into position...lashes fluttering against flushed cheeks as brilliant emerald eyes gaze down adoringly upon their overcome love. Waiting for the overwhelming pleasure to wane just enough... allowing soft eyes of ever-changing color to slowly open and gaze back-over a slow smile...slender fingers flexing over straining muscle that supports their beloved...who only wants to hear gasps of pleasure as they rock...ponderous like heavy waves in open ocean pressing deep...

... Stephen woke suddenly in the night, at first unsure of what caused him to wake until he shifted and breathed heavily in pain. Stephen's body ached, though it was not the pleasant ache of Antonious and him having given into their passion the night was different ...it reminded him of the first time his astral self had been forced back into his body. It was time. He was going to return to the future. Opening the Eye confirmed his suspicions as he felt the Time Stone roiling within its housing, seemingly desperate to return him back where he belonged. Antonious still slept behind him on the bed as he staggered to the window, the Eye closing with a click, and choked on a sob. He fell to his knees in the beam of the moon cascading through the window and wept, relief and agony struggling within his breast and bringing forth a deluge of tears to fall to the sandy had only been five months; it wasn't enough. He had lost Tony, and now he was losing Antonious...five months had not been long enough.

A hand gripped his shoulder, and he looked over it to see Antonious's concerned face looking down upon him with such love that he could not speak. Stephen could only turn and bury himself in the embrace of his Antonious and weep, sobs shaking the both of them in the waves of his anguish. Antonious did what he could to soothe him, but there was nothing that could. Only the overwhelming exertion of tears finally brought him the peace of sleep. Antonious shifting them upon the floor to rest against the wall and eventually fall into sleep himself.

The next morning, Stephen was gone before Antonious woke. He searched the entire breadth of the city and far down the river both ways, but didn't find a trace of Stephen. All that remained were the plates upon which they had dined. Stephen was gone.

The next day...so was he. Rome burned, and Antonious, who could not escape the invaders, burned as well. In his next life he remembered his pasts, even as a small babe looking out into the world. He knew far too much, and was far too experienced for one so young, and the need for his love drove him to terrible lengths. And while he lived a long life, he never found his love, his Stephen, in that lifetime. Then, he was born yet again, this time into the lap of luxury and pain as the son of Howard Stark.


	3. Chapter 3

With the eyes of the entire lab still digging into their backs, Stephen and Tony decided to go to a movie for their first date. Jarvis brought up the current selection up for their perusal, but, after bickering for nearly ten minutes, Christine made the decision for them; calling for Jarvis to get them tickets for Practical Magic.

"What is that even about?"

"Sir, the IMDB summary is 'Two witch sisters, raised by their eccentric aunts in a small town, face closed-minded prejudice and a curse which threatens to prevent them ever finding lasting love.'" The two men turned to Christine, brows rising with their disbelief concerning her choice.

"Come on; it's not like you two are even going to be focusing on the movie."

"She has a point." Tony laughed, poking Stephen in the ribs to make him twitch and get the scowl off his face.

"Fine. But I expect dinner if there is to be a second date."

"You got it, Doc."

"If you guys are just going to stare at each other, I'm going back to the hospital."

"Oh, no, I'll be leaving now to get my own work done."

"I thought you were going to observe the 'merging of such great minds'?"

"Ah, well, Stephy."

"Stephen."

"Stephen, I was only going to do that so I could watch you work while I figured out how to ask you out. And now we have a date so…"

"Alright, then you get going. It would be hard to get any work done with you drooling everywhere."

"I am not drooling!"

"Sure, sure."

"Stephen! Get your butt over here and get to work. You guys can flirt later at your date!"

"Better get going, Stephen. I'll see you at…Jarvis, what time is our movie?"

"9:30 pm this evening sir."

"I'll see you at 9:15. At the hospital?"

"Yes. I'll be waiting." Stephen walked away, but Tony found himself unable to turn away, watching the other man move fluidly through the lab and back to his partner as he slowly walked backward towards the door. He managed to get out of the lab only to stall at the one-way glass observation window and pulled out his phone.

"What is it, Tony?"

"I have a date. Tonight."

"Great! Where are you taking him?"

"It uh didn't exactly go to plan but we are going to see a movie."

"Perfect, just don't spend the entire time staring at him." The laugh surprised Tony as it suddenly sprang from him.

"I won't, Platypus," Tony teased before he hung up. He had a date with his destiny and didn't want to blow it.

He picked Stephen up from the hospital, wearing a simple button down and slacks, to find Stephen similarly dressed, shirt pale blue to Tony's deep burgundy, and looking a little-worn down.

"You're not going to fall asleep on me are you, Doctor?"

"Not on your life." The drive itself was short and they were soon in their seats and debating the watch-ability of the various movie previews they were shown. Tony was rather for seeing Batman: Begins, but Stephen felt it had drifted too far from the comics into gritty darkness.

The movie was not what he expected. The little tale at the beginning, the curse on Owen's women, the death of Sally's parents, and Sally's desperate attempt to not have a soulmate just killed him. Tony was so angry, he hardly noticed Stephen leaning away when he glanced over and saw Tony's furious expression. How could she not want what he had had!? His soulmate was the other half of soul, and it was utterly true. In every life they had balanced each other, even physically; one short one tall, one older one younger. He glanced over at Stephen to see a rather neutral expression on his face as he looked to see where the movie was going.

On the screen Sally's life became everything Tony had wished for himself: he and his love having children. It just wasn't possible At least not yet, Tony conceded to himself. Medicine had changed _a lot_ in the last few hundred years, so maybe someday. It was a beautiful image in his mind; a little dark haired girl to watch grow and know they had added this beautiful being to the world. But then, for Sally, it all came crashing down.

The ticking of the beetle going on and on as Sally tried so hard to find and stop the little bug that meant so much for her life. Tony could not suppress the tiny _no_ that escaped him when the first clicks began, convulsively clutching the hand he suddenly felt in his. He could not look, not until it was over, and so he closed his eyes tightly. Tony could not imagine the agony of knowing that Stephen was about to die. Thankfully, that was a cruelty the universe had declined to give him. Just remembering the deaths of their pasts was hard, but to know it was coming? Tony shuddered violently as the thought of knowing his love was going to die merged with the last death of Stephen that he had witnessed...the day Strano was burned at the stake for healing a man close to death. He missed Stephen turning to him, mouth opening to speak, only to remain silent at the sight of Tony and turn back to the movie.

Sally Owen's life went on on the big screen; her children got bigger and her store came together. Then her sister called her, and she feared the worst only for it to be _horrific_. Jimmy forced her to drive the car, her sister trapped behind her with the monster. And then, the monster was dead, and a twisted need brought it back only to die again at the hands of Sally once more.

Tony mused on what he would do if he ever discovered that his soulmate would not be coming back, but thought he would rather join his love in the final death than continue on or force him back. The sister's lives seemed to move on for a short time, and then he came. Here before Sally was the soulmate she had so feared, there to bring her and her sister in for murder. Tony was startled momentarily at the lack of reaction from the pair, but maybe not all soulmates got their memories back...

The sisters ran circles around Sally's soulmate for a time; her sister got possessed, the town women came together and finally rid the Owens women of their curse. The soulmates parted for a time before Sally was cleared and her love returned to her, ready for their happy ending.

Tony found himself weeping as the movie ended with Sally's calm monologue and he couldn't believe how much it resonated in his very soul. " _Can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart? Was it our joined hands that finally lifted Maria's curse? I'd like to think so. But there are some things I know for certain: always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can."_ Tony may not have been trying to fall in love whenever he could but he, like Sally, knew for certain that Stephen was the love for him. And knowledge told him that love didn't care about time, it just was and it always would be there.

"Tony?" He gasped pulled out of the depths of his emotion by Stephen's quiet call for him. "Are you okay?"

"Maybe?" The single word struggled past the love and want raging within him as the tears continued to spill.

"How about we stay until the end of the credits, and then we can take a walk or something?" Tony nodded into his hands as he curled forward to hide his face, feeling Stephen hesitantly rub a broad hand over his back. The credits rolled gently over the screen for several minutes before the lights came up. Enough time for Tony to calm enough for them to leave.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the day was a war of emotions for Tony as he fought first with himself on whether he should tell Rhodey and then with his emotions as he relived the past with every word. Happiness in all the times he found his love. Agony from watching his soulmate die or be killed, or living the neutral lives where they had never met. Joy in blissful lives where they had met young in life. Rhodey had been disbelieving at first, but as Tony spoke for the fourth hour he was convinced. This was far more than some crazy ideas of love at first sight. Finally, Tony wiped his face, taking deep heaving breaths, and stopped talking. He looked down at his carton of quite cold Chow Mein and waited for Rhodey to speak.

"Tones. I'm sorry." Tony's head snapped up so fast that for a moment he feared he had given himself whiplash.

"What?!"

"Tones, if I had really been such a good friend you would have told me this sooner. No, don't shake your head at me. You probably thought I would ship you to the loony bin."

"Well…"

"Tones, I love you man. So, what I am going to do is forget I ever heard you say anything that sounded so crazy. And instead, I'm gonna help you get your man." Tony crumpled at the words, unable to comprehend just how incredibly lucky he had been in this life, to find a friend like Rhodey.

"I sent him a bouquet asking him to dinner at La Bella Tora."

"Good choice. What are you going to wear for it?" With two hours until his date, the pair of them went through Tony's closet to find the perfect outfit. Somewhere around the tenth outfit Tony realized that he was not as anxious as he had been just that morning, and hugged Rhodey abruptly with a muffled, "Love you man." He received a pat on the shoulder and a knowing happy smile in return while another shirt to try on was thrown at his face.

"Sir, it is 7:30 pm. Your reservation is at 8 pm."

"Right." A final look at Rhodey netted him thumbs up and surprisingly eased his sudden tension. He headed down and out to the car Happy had waiting for him. He had reserved a private room at La Bella Tora, and he looked around critically before letting the waiter know that he was satisfied before giving the name of his expected guest. All that remained was to wait for Stephen to arrive.

So, he waited. And waited. And, as the clock struck midnight, Tony gave in to the knowledge that Stephen was not coming. He slowly exited the silent room, an empty wine bottle lying on the table, and quietly paid before leaving. He walked out, feeling such despair that his vision was filled with blurry tears the moment he was out of sight in the back of his car. He caught a glimpse of Happy's eyes in the rearview mirror and was grateful when the other man did not speak. It was when he got home to Rhodey that his shoulders sank low and whines of agony leaked from his soul.

* * *

Two days later he stood in the new medical facilities and waited for both of his star doctors to arrive for their first day working with the SI R&D Medical division. The limo he had sent for them pulled up to the garage where he had prepared to meet the love of his life...who had deserted him. The pair walked in, still in scrubs, and looked astonished at the large facility they had been brought to.

"Welcome, Doctors!" Tony strode forward every inch the tech mogul, smile broad and false upon his face. "This is the Stark Industries Research and Development Lab, Medical Division. I believe you will find all of the current technologies that you are used to and will find your fellow lab rats ready to see how they can improve them for you and your fellow doctors!" Christine's face looked blank, her foot was tapping sharply on the floor. While she stayed where she was, Stephen stepped forward to shake Tony's hand and thank him for the opportunity he had given them. Tony looked askance at Christine as he informed Stephen, "I'm sure you are both wanting to dive right in so I will leave you to it. I am really just here to observe how day one goes."

"I'm sorry." The statement came suddenly from Stephen who had not moved deeper into the lab as Christine had, but had stayed near Tony.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. About Christine. She is usually the more social of the two of us, but she was stood up a couple days ago, and it seems she is still pissed about it."

"...oh?"

"The guy delivered this huge bouquet to the hospital for her inviting her to dinner, but never showed. She was there for hours in this fancy dress she had apparently borrowed from a friend and..." Tony cut him off as he suddenly could not contain the laughter and coughed violently. This was not the thing to do next to a doctor, especially one he was so enamored with as the man leapt to check him over. "Are you having chest pain? Shortness of breath?"

"NO, no, I just...sorry. I have to go." Tony turned on his heel and practically ran from the room and out to his car where he picked up the phone and dialed the Air Force. Tapping his leg compulsively, he waited for the call to connect. "Colonel Rhodes please."

"One moment while you are transferred." Tony beat his fist against the seat beside his leg in lieu of actually beating himself up as he listened to Minuet in G. "This is Colonel Rhodes."

"Rhodey."

"Tones?! What's going on?"

"They gave them to Christine."

"Who is Christine?"

"She works with Stephen. They gave her the flowers."

"Well, fuck. At least you still have a chance with him, right?"

"Yeah….I do." He fell back against the seat, mind spiraling in a thousand different directions. "Or another chance to be rejected. Fuck"

"I'll be there tonight, man. We can make a game plan." The resulting game plan looked more like a military operation than anything else, but it had Tony feeling confident that he would not be alone for another lifetime.

Step one would commence tomorrow when Stephen arrived to work with the R&D team. They would be taking a look at the basic EKG machine to first familiarize the techs with the basic needs/requirements of medical equipment and then progress to the more sophisticated machinery that graced the operating rooms. It would be perfect, or _would_ have been perfect if Stephen had not arrived late.

"Good morning, Doctor, though I suppose it is afternoon now."

"I was held up in surgery."

"An incredibly good reason to keep me…us waiting Doctor." _Shit! Why did he say that?_ He coughed in an attempt to reroute his thoughts. "Did you get the memo about the basic format of today?"

"I did. It seems you put far more thought into this division than I had originally believed."

"Oh?"

"I was rather certain you had made it up on the spot to have a reason to keep seeing Christine. I…"

"Christine? No, I wanted to keep seeing you...I mean the both of you." Tony could feel himself starting to sweat, his heart rate creeping up, and his knees shaking imperceptibly. "You're both such pioneers in your chosen fields…"

"Romantically?"

"What?"

"Did you want to keep seeing me to…date?"

"No..I just wanted…"

"Your heart rate has increased and your pupils have dilated. You find me attractive."

"Well, who wouldn't!" He gestured almost angrily at Stephen, "Look at you! Tall, dark, and handsome! I think I drowned the other night at the gala when I saw your eyes; those should be illegal! And…" He stopped as the fierce blush on Stephen's face registered along with the eyes of the entire room focused on them. _This was NOT part of the plan! Abort! Abort!_

"He would love to go out with you, Tony." Christine waltzed past the watchers to give Stephen a shove closer to the pale billionaire. "Go on."

"Mr...Uh, Tony, would you go out with me?"


	5. Chapter 5

With the eyes of the entire lab still digging into their backs, Stephen and Tony decided to go to a movie for their first date. Jarvis brought up the current selection up for their perusal, but, after bickering for nearly ten minutes, Christine made the decision for them; calling for Jarvis to get them tickets for Practical Magic.

"What is that even about?"

"Sir, the IMDB summary is 'Two witch sisters, raised by their eccentric aunts in a small town, face closed-minded prejudice and a curse which threatens to prevent them ever finding lasting love.'" The two men turned to Christine, brows rising with their disbelief concerning her choice.

"Come on; it's not like you two are even going to be focusing on the movie."

"She has a point." Tony laughed, poking Stephen in the ribs to make him twitch and get the scowl off his face.

"Fine. But I expect dinner if there is to be a second date."

"You got it, Doc."

"If you guys are just going to stare at each other, I'm going back to the hospital."

"Oh, no, I'll be leaving now to get my own work done."

"I thought you were going to observe the 'merging of such great minds'?"

"Ah, well, Stephy."

"Stephen."

"Stephen, I was only going to do that so I could watch you work while I figured out how to ask you out. And now we have a date so…"

"Alright, then you get going. It would be hard to get any work done with you drooling everywhere."

"I am not drooling!"

"Sure, sure."

"Stephen! Get your butt over here and get to work. You guys can flirt later at your date!"

"Better get going, Stephen. I'll see you at…Jarvis, what time is our movie?"

"9:30 pm this evening sir."

"I'll see you at 9:15. At the hospital?"

"Yes. I'll be waiting." Stephen walked away, but Tony found himself unable to turn away, watching the other man move fluidly through the lab and back to his partner as he slowly walked backward towards the door. He managed to get out of the lab only to stall at the one-way glass observation window and pulled out his phone.

"What is it, Tony?"

"I have a date. Tonight."

"Great! Where are you taking him?"

"It uh didn't exactly go to plan but we are going to see a movie."

"Perfect, just don't spend the entire time staring at him." The laugh surprised Tony as it suddenly sprang from him.

"I won't, Platypus," Tony teased before he hung up. He had a date with his destiny and didn't want to blow it.

He picked Stephen up from the hospital, wearing a simple button down and slacks, to find Stephen similarly dressed, shirt pale blue to Tony's deep burgundy, and looking a little-worn down.

"You're not going to fall asleep on me are you, Doctor?"

"Not on your life." The drive itself was short and they were soon in their seats and debating the watch-ability of the various movie previews they were shown. Tony was rather for seeing Batman: Begins, but Stephen felt it had drifted too far from the comics into gritty darkness.

The movie was not what he expected. The little tale at the beginning, the curse on Owen's women, the death of Sally's parents, and Sally's desperate attempt to not have a soulmate just killed him. Tony was so angry, he hardly noticed Stephen leaning away when he glanced over and saw Tony's furious expression. How could she not want what he had had!? His soulmate was the other half of soul, and it was utterly true. In every life they had balanced each other, even physically; one short one tall, one older one younger. He glanced over at Stephen to see a rather neutral expression on his face as he looked to see where the movie was going.

On the screen Sally's life became everything Tony had wished for himself: he and his love having children. It just wasn't possible At least not yet, Tony conceded to himself. Medicine had changed _a lot_ in the last few hundred years, so maybe someday. It was a beautiful image in his mind; a little dark haired girl to watch grow and know they had added this beautiful being to the world. But then, for Sally, it all came crashing down.

The ticking of the beetle going on and on as Sally tried so hard to find and stop the little bug that meant so much for her life. Tony could not suppress the tiny _no_ had that escaped him when the first clicks began, convulsively clutching the hand he suddenly felt in his. He could not look, not until it was over, and so he closed his eyes tightly. Tony could not imagine the agony of knowing that Stephen was about to die. Thankfully, that was a cruelty the universe had declined to give him. Just remembering the deaths of their pasts was hard, but to know it was coming? Tony shuddered violently as the thought of knowing his love was going to die merged with the last death of Stephen that he had witnessed...the day Strano was burned at the stake for healing a man close to death. He missed Stephen turning to him, mouth opening to speak, only to remain silent at the sight of Tony and turn back to the movie.

Sally Owen's life went on on the big screen; her children got bigger and her store came together. Then her sister called her, and she feared the worst only for it to be _horrific_. Jimmy forced her to drive the car, her sister trapped behind her with the monster. And then, the monster was dead, and a twisted need brought it back only to die again at the hands of Sally once more.

Tony mused on what he would do if he ever discovered that his soulmate would not be coming back, but thought he would rather join his love in the final death than continue on or force him back. The sister's lives seemed to move on for a short time, and then he came. Here before Sally was the soulmate she had so feared, there to bring her and her sister in for murder. Tony was startled momentarily at the lack of reaction from the pair, but maybe not all soulmates got their memories back...

The sisters ran circles around Sally's soulmate for a time; her sister got possessed, the town women came together and finally rid the Owens women of their curse. The soulmates parted for a time before Sally was cleared and her love returned to her, ready for their happy ending.

Tony found himself weeping as the movie ended with Sally's calm monologue and he couldn't believe how much it resonated in his very soul. " _Can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart? Was it our joined hands that finally lifted Maria's curse? I'd like to think so. But there are some things I know for certain: always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can."_ Tony may not have been trying to fall in love whenever he could but he, like Sally, knew for certain that Stephen was the love for him. And knowledge told him that love didn't care about time, it just was and it always would be there.

"Tony?" He gasped pulled out of the depths of his emotion by Stephen's quiet call for him. "Are you okay?"

"Maybe?" The single word struggled past the love and want raging within him as the tears continued to spill.

"How about we stay until the end of the credits, and then we can take a walk or something?" Tony nodded into his hands as he curled forward to hide his face, feeling Stephen hesitantly rub a broad hand over his back. The credits rolled gently over the screen for several minutes before the lights came up. Enough time for Tony to calm enough for them to leave.


	6. Chapter 6

After they had taken their seats and the previews had given way to the main feature, Stephen had waited. Only half his mind on the movie as the rest wondered when Tony was going to make a move and put an arm around him or on his leg. But the flirtatious hand never came and forced him to look toward the other man only to be stunned at the rage twisting the other man's face. Stephen was shocked, both at the reaction and at the utter depth of the emotion being displayed, far from the carefree billionaire tycoon of the press. His shock was so great he looked away, back to Sally on the screen finding happiness.

Stephen watched as Sally finished her little spell and she and her sister grew up with the rapidity of movies and her sister ran off to find love. He watched as Sally and the aunts lived placid lives until the aunts decided to meddle, a move that had Stephen frowning, and Sally was thrust into a happy life with her new husband. It was as the so called Death Beetle began to chirp that he was once again drawn to the man beside him. This time it was not rage on his face, but such sorrow that Stephen didn't even realize he had moved until he felt his hand being crushed and looked to see that it was now held by Tony.

So great was the anguish that Stephen found himself trying to give Tony privacy for it and looked back as Sally's husband died; leaving Sally and her children alone. At one point, struck by the urge to give some innocuous platitude, Stephen turned, but quickly turned back at the sight of Tony wearing the same expression. The movie calmed for a time as Sally recovered from her loss. Until her sister came into trouble and then they were both deep in trouble. As they buried Jimmy in the garden, Stephen realized his hand was still being held but decided to not bring it up. Instead, he enjoyed the quiet sense of togetherness it gave and continued watching as Sally and her sister sought to get out of trouble.

As the movie reached its happy ending, Stephen turned again to the man next to him and this time found him weeping. It was not the right reaction, but nevertheless, Stephen found himself struck by how beautiful the man was, even as a torrent of tears ran down his joyous face.

"Tony? Are you okay?" Stephen asked, voice soft and warm in the wake of his own realization.

"Maybe?" The tentative answer had his heart tightening in his chest, hating the fear he could hear just barely there under everything else.

"How about we stay until the end of the credits, and we can take a walk or something?" Tony nodded jerkily as he attempted to take a fetal position, and finally slipped his hand from Stephen's to cover his face. Stephen haltingly reached out to rub his back, uncertain if the gesture would be appreciated. The pair sat in silence as the rest of the theater trickled out around them, off on their own lives and uncaring of the two men. When the lights came up Stephen softly informed Tony, "We have to go."

Tony stood with shuddering breaths but an expression far better suited to a board meeting than a date. They walked outside side by side, seemingly relaxed and uncaring, and headed towards the nearby park. At some point while they had been inside the moon had risen, adding a soft haze to the world as they wove through trees until they found a bench.

"Not much of a date, huh? I cou..."

"Shut up Tony." The billionaire's mouth snapped shut with a click in surprise. "Do I need to know what was going on with you during the movie?" Tony could not stop the wince at the question, dreading even remotely trying to explain without talking about their pasts'. "Seems like answer enough for me. How about you tell me what you know of the stars instead, hmm? We can see a few of them from here."

Tony looked up at his words, staring up into the sky where he could see many stars and began to talk. Anything and everything he could think of relating to the sky poured out of him, and it was surprising how calm he felt when he finally ran out of words. Silence fell with the last of his explanation of a plan for satellite star viewing; leaving only the crickets to play for them. Stephen took a deep breath, holding it, and turned to Tony. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The pair jumped, Tony out of sudden terror and Stephen out of complete habit as he snatched his pager from his hip.

"Take me to dinner tomorrow! Text me when." Stephen felt...he wasn't sure what he felt, but he didn't want to leave Tony like this, but he had too. "I have to get to the hospital."

With that, Stephen ran. Ran from Tony and the...feelings, he had given him to go do what he was good at.

Left behind, Tony stayed at the bench looking back and forth from the stars to his empty hands, just breathing. He stayed until the sun began to peek at him from the horizon and he left to let it rise in peace, returning to his tower. He changed slowly, not wanting to leave the previous night in the past and jumped into the shower to begin preparing for the day.

Time passed agonizingly slow, every minute feeling like hours. He sat in meeting after meeting, one eye on the clock as he tried to decide if he should take Stephen to La Bella Tora or somewhere else. He held a pad under the table and wrote down and crossed off restaurant after restaurant before closing it in frustration and walking out of...of whatever the last meeting had been. Tony absentmindedly told Jarvis to just pick a place, make reservations for 8:30 and send a text to Stephen letting him know. He stomped through the Tower before ending up staring out the window of his room watching the city go about its day in peace.

"Sir, Mr. Stane is on the phone for you." Tony twitched as Jarvis's voice pulled him out of his near meditative state.

"Put him through."

"Tony! I hear you started a new branch of R&D."

"I did. A medical branch working alongside some of the doctors from Metro General."

"You're not going to let this keep you from your work, are you? We need those blueprints finished for the Army."

"I'm almost finished already Obie. Don't worry about it." In reality, he only had a title for the missile he had in mind. Jericho. He starting walking to the lab, at least it would be something to do until his date tonight.

"Glad to hear it, my boy! Try not to blow anything up in the lab this time though, don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't, I won't. That was one time Obie!" He gestured to Jarvis to end the call as Obie started listing 'incidences' though his loud laughter, a small smile gracing Tony's own face. He ended up staying in his lab until Jarvis informed him it was 7:45 and that he needed to get cleaned up for his date.


	7. Chapter 7

After spending a bit too much time deciding what to wear, Tony took the stairs down to the car. Feeling like the elevator would have been too slow. He was in the car and halfway to the hospital before he realized he had never asked where they were going.

"Jarvis, what restaurant did you pick?"

"Le Coucou"

"Happy, you heard the man. Straight there after we get Stephen." The other man was waiting at the side of the hospital as they pulled up. The man looked incredible, a three-piece suit leaving Tony breathless at the glimpse of his narrow waist accentuated by the deep blue vest,...and was that a Movado Bold watch on his wrist?

"Good evening, Tony." Tony couldn't speak. All words caught in his throat as Stephen's eye met his and he began to drown. The barest blush beginning to creep over Stephen's throat had him turning away to clear his throat.

"Stephen. Did you have a good day?"

"No one died on my shift, so yes. It was a good day. And you."

"It was boring as hell. Board meetings and blueprints all day long." Tony flapped a hand as he spoke as though trying to fend off the butterflies congregating in his stomach. Tony was thankful the ride was short as the awkward small talk had left him feeling uneasy. He watched Stephen blink at their destination as he offered a hand in getting out of the car. "Have you been here before?"

"No, actually. I have been meaning to but haven't had the pleasure."

"Good, I hope you enjoy it." The Maitre De showed them immediately to their table; the staff close to tripping over themselves as they sought to please Mr. Stark. Once they had ordered however, talking seemed to happen effortlessly, bouncing from their school experiences, to their past dating experiences, to their day to day lives. By the time dessert had arrived, the pair had fallen into a kind of slow quiet. Over their dessert of chocolate mousse and coffee ice cream, they hesitantly spoke of wanting to continue their dating and to see where it led.

The night ended with Tony saying goodbye to Stephen at the door of his apartment with a kiss. An incredible kiss tinged with the coffee and chocolate they had consumed and underlined with a passion that had them both breathless.

"Good night, Tony."

"Good night, Stephen. Sleep well." The moment the door clicked closed Tony was leaning back against it and grinning like a fool. He had another chance. He practically danced down the hall, punching the air in the elevator, and went home to dream of the past and what the future could bring.

Thus began a whirlwind romance. It started simply, nothing too elaborate could be planned with Stephen's haphazard scheduling, and so they attempted to dine at every restaurant in the city, one street at a time. Tony was happy to watch Stephen finally begin to not look quite so thin as he had in the beginning; he had feared cutting himself on those cheekbones. At the same time,Stephen enjoyed having someone waiting to see him when he finally got off his shift.

They spent an entire day once- well _nearly_ as Stephen got called into work near the end- at the aquarium, watching the various fish and other aquatic life go by and making up various names for them. Another time Stephen took him to the planetarium and they looked at all the stars hidden from them by the lights of the city, talking quietly about what it must be like to go to the stars.

And when they had finally fallen into bed one evening, it had been as if it was just another piece of their lives slotting together as they woke side by side the next morning with no awkwardness between them. Their lives were becoming better, though every so often Tony would watch the strangest expression cross Stephen's face as he accepted another gift from Tony. A blend of shock, confusion, and was that fear underneath it all before Stephen would smile and give a kiss of thanks in return.

At five months, however, the wind began to die down as Tony found Stephen making excuses to stay in the lab and not go with Tony to the Tower to spend time together. Tony tried to let it go, this love was different from the rest he didn't remember. At least not yet. He just had to give them time. Yes, time. It would all work out in the end.

But it didn't.

"Why can't you just trust me!?"

"I do trust you Tony, but I don't trust Obadiah!"

"Well I do, and I say to trust him!"

"It doesn't work like that Tony! You don't get to make up my mind for me! If you go to Afghanistan, I won't be here when you get back."

"You're just going to give up? "

"No, Tony. I _am_ leaving, but maybe you'll someday see why. If you don't, I might as well have given up." Stephen left that evening, but Tony was not there to see the empty drawers in their room or gap in their closet. Instead, he was waking up to the grizzled face of his fellow prisoner and looking down at his broken heart.


	8. Chapter 8

Being stuck in a cave gave Tony a lot of time to think. And there was an awful lot for him to think about. How to get out, how to make this _thing_ in his chest better, how to fix things with Stephen. It was enough time to realize where he had gone wrong. He had been using the past to help him get the future he had wanted, but he had forgotten that Stephen did not have that past, had not told him all those interesting little tidbits about himself.

Tony had been a fool.

He hadn't even taken the time to see what was different about his love. He had looked so much like the Stephen that Antonious had known that he had ignored the differences. And now every little detail, the smooth, steady hands, the pitch black hair unmarked by time, the sharp, clear blue-gray of his eyes, and the shocked wonder those eyes had held when Tony had looked at him with such love was glaring obvious.

Tony tried to think of the last time he had truly thought to _learn_ about his love but had to admit that it had always been his other half to ask and speak about their new childhoods and the lives they had lived while apart. Tony had only ever cared about the present, and now all he could do was hold onto a past that may never repeat itself. Yinsen truly was a blessing in those long months in the cave, and was the second person he had ever told about his reincarnations. The other man was surprisingly open to the idea, hoping that maybe in the next life his family would be free of such suffering. Tony could only hope the same.

As the shape of his destiny began to take shape before his eyes, Tony vowed to change. He would change himself, his company, and his mission in life. He would do his best to heal, he would no longer let his company hurt, and he would work to be a better person for the rest of his lives. Maybe then, this Stephen would be proud of him. He and Yinsen planned carefully, their every move down to the step, to the minute, planned and planned until they had it.

An escape.

However, it turned out that, in this escape, only one would be making it to freedom in this life. With every further step he took out of the cave Tony prayed to every god he knew that Yinsen would have another life; a life filled with freedom and happiness. And when he stepped out into the light, his thoughts shifted toward the dark. And he found himself asking every demon, monster, devil, and curse he could name to come down upon those who had used his weapons like this.

The flames of the war around him burned high, but he climbed higher, rising above the destruction he had wrought, leaving the abyss of his past to chase the bright future that filled his mind and dreams. And as the rising arc of his ascent began to fall, Tony could only hope that when he came back down, Stephen would be there waiting for his return. His fall was a brutal slam to earth, a harsh decisive period to the sentence of what was past and leaving only the future. He sputtered in the sand and heat, clambering out of the wreck of his life and began to walk. His focus so strong that it was not until he saw the shadow that he even noticed the helicopter coming for him and knelt in relief. He whispered his thanks to the gods as he was helped into the chopper and slowly relaxed into unconsciousness.

He awoke briefly on the flight to back to the US, and could vaguely remember asking for Stephen, as well as the muffled, sorrowful reply he received from Rhodey.

His love was gone. He crumpled under the weight of his grief and left the waking world until they landed. Pepper met him at the landing strip, tears on her face, and welcomed him home. He was not home.

"I want to see Stephen."

"Tony...Tony, he is gone. I'm sorry."

"I.." he choked on the words, despite knowing that it would be a long, and yet brief, loss, "I know. I want to see his grave."

"NO! Tony, no! He is alive! He is just missing!" Tony's knees gave out, and Rhodey scrambled to keep him upright. The tears he had been unable to shed on the flight overflowed and the agony in his chest exploded.

"AGGHck..."

"TONY!"

"Happy! How far are we from the hospital?"

"No..hos...pital. Fuck! No hospital."

"Tony, you collapsed!"

"I'm fine…I...I need some food...No, fuck it!...I need a press conference...NOW."

"Tones, don't you think you should.."

"I SAID I NEED A PRESS CONFERENCE!" Tony stared unblinkingly back at the shocked faces around him, his chest heaving with renewed pain, but unwilling to be deterred, and softly reiterated. "I need to tell the world. This is important. I need him to know. I need everyone to know."

"Okay, okay, but relax please! Jarvis, get me the..." Tony let her voice fade into the background as he looked out the window, watching the world pass by. Somewhere out there was Stephen. And Stephen had to know that he had figured it out. He had to hear what Tony had to say. The stretch of time that followed was practically blank from his memory with only brief moments remaining. His overwhelming mental prayer for Stephen to hear him, Obadiah hugging him, looking out at a sea of reporters, and declaring the change in his soul before the world.

"And that is why, effective immediately; I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing section of Stark International."


	9. Chapter 9

Tony knew Obadiah was pissed, but it was his company. It was his decision to change the direction of it and move them toward the future he should have been guiding them to. Somehow, he had allowed himself to be blinded to his own history and all the war and death that had been such a terrible part of it. How could he have forgotten the long nights holding his love as their memories threatened to drown them? They even had words for it now: Shellshock and PTSD. Well, he and his love had them both in spades. And here he had been living, happily, as he ensured that thousands of others would be suffering the same fate.

In his lab, Tony morosely read through what little information there was about Stephen. He had crashed. His love had been broken while he was away. He looked at the photos of Stephen's wreck and could hardly breathe, but it was the x-rays that broke him. Those gorgeous hands had been destroyed; his love had had nothing beside his hands in his mind. So many times Tony had tried to show Stephen that he was more than his hands, more than his work, but it had never sunk in. He wept quietly into his hands once he read the last line of Pepper's report. **Housekeeper reports Stephen left without warning in the middle of the night, no bank or credit card use registered since.** He was gone. Jarvis had been watching security cameras and such since that night on Pepper's request but had yet to find a trace.

It was with a shuddering breath let he set everything aside to focus on the present; on his mission. He quickly took advantage of his superior equipment and fabricated a new arc reactor and called Pepper.

"Pepper: how big are your hands?

"What?"

"How big are your hands?"

"I don't understand why…"

"Get down here. I need you." When Pepper walked into his lab as he lay on the medical bed and attached to equipment Stephen had gotten him to buy, Tony found himself wishing it was Stephen who was coming. The heart monitor sped up at his need, and he struggled to squash it before Pepper could hear. He held up the replacement reactor as she walked up and cast a horrified look at his chest. "We need to get this in to replace my first attempt."

"What…what do you need me to do?"

"First," he popped out the original, motioning for her to take it, "you need to unclip this one, and do you see that copper wire? Reach in and…you got it?"

"Yeah, I've got it."

"Now pull it out, gently, and just make sure you don't touch the s..AAAH! I-i-i-des!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Don't touch the sides...just gently pull it out and don't pull out.." He choked a bit as he heard the heart monitor start beeping frantically, "the magnet at the end of it. That. you just…"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, just going into cardiac arrest, because you…"

"What! I thought you said this was safe!"

"..just yanked it out like a trout!" Tony took a quick gulping breath and pushed on, shoving the new reactor at Pepper, "We have to hurry. Take this, take this…"

"Okay, okay…"

"Now you have to take this wire and attach it to the base plate, there."

"Okay, Tony?"

"What?"

"Tony, it's gonna be okay."

"Is it? He's.."

"It's gonna be okay. I-I am going to keep looking and make everything okay."

"Let's hope." Tony clenched his teeth as she reached in again, and could not hold back a yell as it connected, power surging through him. "Yaa-ow….Was that so hard? That was fun, right?"

"Don't ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that, ever again!"

"Pep, Stephen is gone. I don't have anyone but you." The look in her eyes made him want to take back the words, the sadness and sympathy making tears of his own well in eyes. Pepper coughed and looked away, picking up the first reactor.

"What do you want me to do with this?"

"That? Destroy it. Incinerate it."

"You don't want to keep it?"

"Pepper, I've been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them." Tony had made sure of that by not keeping, but hiding, everything he could of the past and his past lives. It was just that, his past. He could not go back to it and would not want to, only wanting to continue on and find his soulmate again. He could lose himself if he allowed nostalgia a real place in this life. He shook his head at himself and quickly went to clean up, he needed to talk to Rhodey about this new aspect of his life.

He felt rather alone as he left the airfield, disappointed now in his choice of friend. Had Rhodey been appeasing him? Had he not really understood the need he had for Stephen and their love? For now, he was ignoring this change of his will and desires from life. He grit his teeth during the drive back to the house and charged through his home and to the lab, willfully ignoring the fleeting memories of Stephen populating the house and imploring him to _calm down, you're going to give yourself a headache grinding your teeth like that, you know._

Sitting down at his workstation, Tony had Jarvis start going through and compiling a list of the current, projected, and proposed SI medical projects along with their current Intelli-crop list to see where they could use the extra manpower they would be getting from shutting down weapons manufacturing. He himself, however, turned his mind to his creation. The suit that had brought him out of his captivity and a step closer to home, to Stephen. He gutted the original design to bare-bones and carefully built it back up. He wanted a way to protect himself and the people he loved. Weapons would, unfortunately, be a part of the design, though focused on incapacitation rather than death.

And flight.

He still remembered his old Stephen's gift of what it had been like to fly. His red cloak that had brought him to the skies had borne them to the heavens to see the stars so close. It had been a beautiful night.

 _Antonious had returned from his work in the city to find Stephen resting upon his bed, still tired from the mysterious journey that had brought him to Antonious. He had sat beside the bed, resting an arm and his head upon it watch him sleep and to memorize the new face of his soulmate. Eventually, he had drifted off himself and was awoken by the most beautiful laugh and a shaking hand upon his head._

 _"Good evening, Antonious, my love."_

 _"Good evening my Stephen. You have been sleeping so much, is there anything I could do for you?"_

 _"It is alright my love; I had so rarely been able to sleep as deeply as now."_

 _"Have you been sick?"_

 _"No, just weary of the world and of being alone."_

 _"You are no longer alone, I am here and shall always be by your side." Stephen's eyes had crinkles at the corners with his words and filled with such love and need that his breath had left him._

 _"No, I am no longer alone." His Stephen had breathed deeply, and had choked upon his next words. "Antonious, will you look at the stars with me?"_

 _"Of course, let us.."_

 _"No, Antonious, I mean…" he had looked away, stroking a hand down the red fabric he had been unwilling to tell him more about and stayed facing the bed. "I can fly Antonious…" The other man closed his eyes briefly as he sucked in a great lungful of air, "Will you join me high in the clouds to look upon the stars?" Antonious had been terribly fearful as the crimson cloth had lifted them off their feet, and yet it had vanished within an instant at the joy and rapture upon Stephen's face. Antonious had never felt fear for the skies after that._

The suit would not let him feel the elements as he had that night, but Tony would be that much closer in spirit to his love once again. He focused on flight first, it would not do to be unable to maneuver in the suit and flight would be better by far. He was working on the flight stabilizers when Pepper came down with a package and cup of coffee for him; he didn't pay attention to either. He absentmindedly took note of Pepper's words and answered her question before he headed up stairs, a little shocked at the strength of his stabilizer.

Obie's information concerning his company was disheartening, but he trusted that Obadiah would be able to handle everything. As much as he trusted Obie, however, this suit, this reactor, was his. It was his soul that he was putting into the work and it would be his soul to guide it to completion. Tony went back down to the lab. The possible injunction to remove him from the board was nothing compared to what he was attempting, and Obie could handle the board easily without him.

The lift capability of his design, however, had been a bit more than he expected during his first attempt; his bruised ribs attesting to his creation's power. His next attempt on day eleven was much better, and though his body ached from his contortions to control it, he could fly once again. It was with this flight that his mission to end the atrocities began its true beginning. Tony ignored Jarvis who attempted to have him take it slow and took to the skies, looking at the stars and striving to return to the view Stephen had given to him, so high above the earth. The ice that formed over the exterior of the suit, high in the night sky, was a rude awakening that brought him back to the present, reminding him of where he was in time.


	10. Chapter 10

When Tony had finished his flight and had gotten an ice pack for his head, he returned to the lab and finally took note of the package Pepper had left for him earlier. It was the first reactor, mounted and with a plaque about the edge that read 'Proof That Tony Stark Still Has a Heart' calling back to the articles that had come out after his return about Stephen having left. They had speculated about why the other man had left and had settled upon the fact that Tony Stark did not care about anyone but himself, having no heart left for Stephen.

Flipping on the TV for a bit of background sound, Tony was surprised at the mention of a Gala he was unaware of for his company. "Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall where Tony Stark's is third annual benefit for the Firefighter's family fun has become the place to be…"

"Jarvis, did I get an invitation to this?"

"I have no record of one, sir." Tony entertained the thought of going, and, with Jarvis stating that his suit had a further five hours before it would be completed, decided to go. He changed quickly and grabbed a car at random from his collection. It was an irrational wish, but he hoped Stephen would be there. It had been a Gala, after all, that had started it all.

Every flash of white had Tony turning his head; a white glove, a white scarf, a handkerchief, some flowers, none of it Stephen. He moved quickly about the party, nimbly avoiding the agent from the the Strategic whatever it was that was so determined to take up his valuable time. It took five laps around the gala before he admitted to himself that there had been some error in his thinking. Tony went to the bar, wanting nothing more than to drown his disappointment and was approached by a figure he remembered turning away the night before his visit to Afghanistan.

"Well, well, Tony Stark. Fancy meeting you here."

"Miss?"

"Everhart. You know I almost believed you.

"I haven't said anything all night; you'll have to be more specific."

"Is this," the glossy photos smacked against his chest, "what you call accountability?"

"What is this?"

"It's a town called Gulmira. You heard of it?"

"When were these taken?"

"Yesterday." Tony felt his very soul freeze, how could this have…someone had betrayed him.

"I didn't authorize this."

"Well, your company did."

"Well I'm not my company." Pepper...no, she would never…but Obbie…he had only ever been proud of his weapons. But no, Stane had practically raised him after… Tony left Ms. Everhart quickly, figures jumping out of the way of his charge, to the doors where Obadiah stood holding council with the press. He promptly learned that it was Obadiah that was behind his continued failure to protect others as the man he'd considered a father figure was revealed to be a traitor. Tony watched the news on the villages as he finalized the suit, making a decision on what to do.

Gulmira was no match for his creation, and Tony quickly laid waste to the twisted imitations of his own designs. He had not, however, been expecting to have a little…tussle with the Air Force. Though a bit chagrined about the plane being destroyed, Tony now had even greater proof of the suit's ability to withstand the tests this life threw at him. The tank may have momentarily knocked him from the air, but he wouldn't be taken from the skies, and his memories of them, easily.

Returning to the mansion, however, revealed another small flaw in the design as he was manipulated every which way as his bots attempted to get him out of the suit. He froze at the sight of Pepper in his lab, still in the middle of exiting the suit. He had so much fear that this would be what finally lead to her abandoning him for real; she had already seemed to be moving away from him. He tried to play it off with a bit of banter, but Pepper had already seen the marks of bullets that riddled the suit.

Once he was free of the suit, Tony calmed Pepper down to the best of his ability and turned to tinker a bit more with it as he spoke.

"Hey, you busy? Mind if I send you on a little errand?" Despite the stare Pepper gave him in return, Tony explained how he wanted her to get information from his office so he would know exactly what Obadiah was up to.

"And what do you plan to do with the information if I bring it back to you?"

"Same drill: find my weapons and destroy them."

"Tony, you know that I would help you with anything, but I cannot help you if you're going to start all this again!"

"There is nothing except this! There's no art opening, no charity, nothing to sign. There's the next mission, and there is finding Stephen. That's it. Nothing else."

"Is that so? Well, then, I quit."

"You stood by my side all these years while I reaped the benefits of destruction. Now that I'm trying to protect the people I've put in harm's way, to be the man Stephen had seen in me, you're going to walk out?"

"You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it."

"Pepper, I wouldn't be alive unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it's right. Stephen had known it all along. I _have_ to do this. I _have_ to show him that I understand and..and that I love him still." Tony tinkered angrily with a random bit of tech on his desk as Pepper took the chip and left to hack his computer. Eventually, he wandered upstairs to burn off a bit of his nervous energy.

Tony was in the kitchen getting some water when somewhere in the house he could hear the phone start ringing. Setting down his glass, he went toward the persistent ringing that was coming from…under the pillow? He answered it quickly hoping for good news from Pepper.

"Pepper, d.." Tony jerked once, only just hearing the high whine that loosened every bit of his body before he felt large hands lower him down. Obadiah, stood over him, no longer wearing the face of the family friend who was practically an uncle, the face of betrayal.

"When I ordered the hit on you, I was worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived it, leaving one last golden egg to give." Tony heard a sizzle and brush of heat at his chest. Ice flooding his veins as he realized Obadiah's intention.

"You really think," Obadiah's wrist twisted violently, loosening the reactor from its socket, "that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you?" Tony's breathing stuttered as the reactor entered the edge of his vision, and was jerked out of his chest. "Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" Obadiah, waved the arc reactor in his face as he continued to monologue at Tony, a typical villainous trait that he had always scoffed at. Every word killed him a little more inside, mentally and physically, until, "It's a shame you had to bring Pepper into this, I would have preferred she live. But, I've already dealt with that Doctor of yours who was going to ruin everything...might as well deal with Pepper now.

Tony's mind froze, the implication of Obadiah's words hitting him like concrete. "He was so easy to get rid of, you know," Obadiah taunted. "Just a little car crash and he was out of the game." No…NO! He couldn't have…Hearing about the attempt on Stephen's life somehow hurt more than the one on his own. Stephen was far more deserving of life than he. "Goodbye Tony."

Obadiah left Tony's line of vision, and he was left alone in his mind, alone in his home, alone in his soul. He couldn't die here. So many others would die if he gave up this life now. Tony strained to move something, anything, as the minutes passed like hours in a timeless void, his heartbeat the only means of tracking time.

No. _Dum,_ no. _Dum, ba dum,_ Tony's heartbeat thrummed in his ears, moving in time with his refusals. He would not die here. He would not die alone again. He. Would. Not. Die. Now. His entire body twitched, and he fell forward, off the couch and onto his hands and knees. His original reactor. It was down in the lab. His vision narrowed down, focusing in on the elevator, and he began to crawl.

The past floated in and out of Tony's vision, wars of time long past and the echoes of his love calling for him. _Tornoni! Don't leave me! Please! You can do this! Breathe!_ The voice in his mind got him as far as the lab table, but his fingers slipped from the edge and he lay unmoving where he fell. He could feel the phantom tears, or maybe they were his own, upon his face _Tornoni, don't leave me, please don't leave me…_ Boipit boip? _Dum-E?_ He opened listless eyes to see the bot holding the old arc reactor out to him. Tony took it with a simple, "Good boy," for his bot, and struggled to place it in his chest as the last of his vision began to fade to black.


	11. Chapter 11

He gasped. There was a figure above him.

"Stephen?"

"Tones! Are you alright? What happened?"

"Ob...Obbie, he...he took my heart," Tony panted, chest tight and heavy with the old reactor in place. His mind was hazy as he got to his feet and the next few hours blurred together in a rush of adrenaline, worry, and agony. It took weeks for him to fully remember what had happened after he woke in a private hospital wing, bandaged and with the new reactor back in place.

A few days later, his life changed yet again. Tony stood before the press and proclaimed who he was to the world, praying that Stephen had heard him.

"The truth is...I am Iron Man."

In the weeks that followed Tony worked diligently to improve the armor and his company. He reorganized the company, ensuring that his employees weren't thrown to the wayside in the change. Trainings were set up for all that wished to change to one of the new divisions or leave for an entirely new job. Tony wasn't about to ruin the lives of so many after working so hard to improve the world for all. He found himself looking out at the stars time and time again, hoping that Stephen would be proud of who he had become. He no longer hoped that the memories would return, only that Stephen would.

It was several months following the press conference when Jarvis woke him in the middle of the night.

"SIR! Facial recognition places Doctor Strange in downtown New York approximately 15 minutes ago." Tony slammed his knee into the nightstand, tangling himself in the sheets as he sprang out of bed.

"Show me the footage, now!" A grainy video projected on the glass, showing a dark city, a whirl of wind swarming down the middle of the street, and there! Just briefly, Stephen's face in the corner, looking at something out of view and then back out of the frame, it paused. "Jarvis...can we clear up the video any?"

"Negative, sir." Tony could swear Stephen had streaks of white in his hair, but no this was the Stephen of the present. "Where is that, exactly? Is there any more?"

By the time the sun had risen, Tony felt like tearing out his hair. Stephen had been at the hospital, he had spoken to Christine for Christ's sake, and then fucking disappeared all over again. Christine didn't remember seeing him leave the hospital, instead concerned by all the coma patients suddenly waking. Combing through all video feed of the area had only shown freak tornadoes and some sort of explosion in the middle of the road.

Tony relocated to New York hoping that Stephen would show up again and he would be there, but the months went by without any further trace of Stephen. Pepper had brought in more help at one point; a gentleman named Phil he never met in person. Pepper had apparently run into the guy during his earlier press conferences. Aside from the lack of Stephen sightings, Tony's life continued on. SI had branched out further, providing new grants, scholarships, and funds to aid those in need. Today he and Pepper were actually beginning the test run for the use of arc reactors for clean energy, which led to him doing a bit of underwater maintenance on the power-lines to the Tower.

"Pepper, how does it look?"

"Levels are holding steady... I think."

"Of course they are, I was directly involved," Tony smirked as he flew back.

"Haha, very funny Mr. Stark." Pepper handed him a glass of celebratory champagne once he had gotten out of the suit-he loved his new disassembly pad-and took a sip. "It looks great, Tony. I am sure he would be proud." Tony didn't reply; he couldn't in the wake of Jarvis's interruption that had him jumping up from his seat.

"Sir, Mr. Coulson is attempting to reach you."

"Did he find Stephen?!"

"He is refusing to state, sir."

"Get him up here." The elevator opened almost immediately at his words and showing him yet again just how well Jarvis knew him.

"Mr. Stark, I need to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."

"Phil, unless you have something for me about Stephen, I don't care about anything else you could possibly have to offer me. I.." Pepper's hand on his arm had him pausing.

"Tony, you need to listen about this. You keep telling me you have changed. That you want to protect the world the way Stephen had known you could." She gestured to Phil with her free hand, the other now pressed to his lower back. "This is how."

"Pep...you..."

"I need to get back to California. I'll leave you and Phil to get this figured out." Tony stared at the elevator closing behind her and turned to Phil.

"What the hell is the Avengers Initiative?"


	12. Chapter 12

It was well after dawn by the time Tony finished the homework Phil had left for him. The image of the tesseract stuck in the back of his mind throughout it. Something about it seemed familiar. The Avengers initiative: 'An idea to bring together a group of remarkable people to see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could.' Pepper had been right, that was straight up his alley. This could very well be the path for him to better the world without having to do it alone.

It would not do to be taken unawares by this new 'initiative' and it proved to be invaluable, so Tony sent ahead one of his jets with a container holding the most recent iteration of his suit. It would remain locked to his bio-signature, and he had left a link for Jarvis to keep an eye on it. It would be there when he was finally called in to meet with his fellow Avengers, though it turned out that it would not be a simple meet and greet. Coulson called to inform Tony that a fugitive named Loki was on Earth somewhere, and they, the Avengers, needed to find him. Tony had Jarvis connect with S.H.I.E.L.D's system and work alongside their facial recognition software. It took little time before the ping of a match to Loki sounded, leading them to Germany.

Tony informed his new teammates of his arrival via radio, and some excellent music, before slamming Loki with his repulsors while making mocking jabs at the god's horrendous helmet. The god dealt with, Tony turned and nodded courteously to the one teammate he had dreaded meeting: Captain America. Standing before the seated god, he was briefly distracted by a flash of crimson in his peripheral vision. He would have to review the footage later, but he could have sworn it had been his old Stephen's cloak that swished by.

Tony made sure Loki was well in hand and took flight alongside the quinjet, not wanting to be near the super soldier that had taken up so much of his father's attention. Allowing Jarvis to guide his flight, Tony reviewed the footage and saw that it _had_ been the Cloak he had remembered, though he was unable to see who wore it. He was just about to turn back when his spotted a large blond with a hammer landing on the quinjet mid-flight.

"Hey, buddy!" The large blonde turned to look at him with shock in his electric blue eyes. "Are you attacking or just here for a visit?"

"I am taking my brother home." That was a statement not a request from the large man as the quinjet's rear hatch opened and he took off with Loki. Tony shot after them, hearing the good Captain protesting in his ear.

"Stark! We need a plan."

"I have a plan. Attack. If that guy frees or kills Loki then the Tesseract is lost." Tony followed their flight path to a large hill where they landed and began to talk. He hung back, planning on just listening and waiting for the others to catch up, but when he heard Thor's threat, "You come home...Listen well brother.." with hammer held high, Tony slammed his body into Thor, effectively knocking both of them away from Loki. He got to his feet quickly, taking note in the meager light now given to see that Thor also wore a red cloak.

"Do not touch me again."

"Then give up Loki."

"You have no idea what you are dealing with." Tony couldn't believe this guy.

"Uh, Shakespeare in the park? Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?"

"This is beyond you, little man. Loki will face Asguardian justice."

"After he gives up the cube, not before." Thor apparently disagreed with that and threw the hammer at him. Hard. It slammed him back and through a tree. The fight was, though loud, quick and abrupt, ending with the Captain's shield somehow reflecting the hammer's blow and taking them all off their feet.

With Thor now on their side, they were soon handing Loki off to SHIELD personnel. Tony broke off from the group to take off his now battered suit and confirm that the one he had sent ahead was good to go. Afterward, he took a walk around the, admittedly, impressive helicarrier until he was gently escorted to where he was supposed to be. Where he was _allowed_ to be more like it.

Coulson met him in the hall and walked with him to the bridge where Tony promptly put his hands on everything he could, dropping Jarvis a link in as he did so. It was invigorating to speak with a fellow scientist. Though he could have gone without meeting General Fury, who was the type of man he recognized from his army service of the past; one who would go to any length to be the strongest around. Tony would have to keep an eye on the General. Meeting was a long time dream come true, though he had always hoped to meet the scientist with Stephen at his side. Dr. Banner, for his part, seemed shocked to have anyone showing any sort of admiration for both him and the 'other guy.'

The newly acquainted pair was rather quickly shuttled off the bridge and to one of the labs to search for the Tesseract. Tony got the impression that Fury had quite a lot to hide and didn't want to give either man much time to look around. Fortunately, he could look into Fury from anywhere on the ship. Jarvis was already in the system and snooping around before they had even gotten to the lab. The good Captain, however, seemed very against any sort of search into S.H.I.E.L.D and their work. Even Banner could see that something was up with the way they had gone about everything.

Tony was glad that Mr. Rogers was not a complete idiot after he had come back with phase two weapons and realized that S.H.I.E.L.D was not exactly the good force it touted itself to be. General Fury was nothing less than just like all the other seekers of destruction that Tony had known; until Stephen. But Fury sought to destroy anything that remotely threatened his way of life. The quickly rising anger and irritation in the room was strong, and the building migraine not helping Tony stay calm in the wake of their utter irrationality. When Bruce picked up the scepter he feared there was something more going on and then, suddenly, something more _was_ going on as the whole ship lurched, fire belching from the vent under their feet. Tony hit the ground hard, but was quick to recover and run for his suit.

The engine was down, of course, and as the best mechanic around, Tony was quickly on the job. He cleared the debris easily enough and talked Mr. America through the relays and where to stand to ensure he would be able to get out. And then, he pushed. And pushed. And pushed. He could feel the sweat beading on his temples as he held the suit in position and finally, finally, felt relief as the turbine began to pull away.

"Cap, hit the lever. "

It was still speeding up.

"Lever."

He was running out of time.

"Now!"

He watched the turbine blade pull away from him, almost gently releasing him from its service.

And then he hit the blade behind him.

"Oh."

Tony was swept away and under the blades, twisting every which way yet unable to break free until he fell below them, forcing him to struggle to right himself with only the two repulsers left functioning. He careened back to the helicarrier and slammed into a dark figure as the suit went dark and he fell to the steel floor of the ship.


	13. Chapter 13

Tony lay in the dark suit, his chest heaving, as he waited for it to come back online. And when it did, he wished it hadn't.

"Agent Coulson is down." Fury's solemn pronouncement had his vision blurring and chest tightening. Tony had spent a lot of time working with Phil and Pepper in the search for Stephen. He had heard all about Coulson's beloved cellist in Portland and doing what he could to ensure they had time together. And now, he was gone. Tony quietly prayed that Phil would get another life with his love as he took off the suit and stored it back away in the container.

When Tony made it back to the bridge, he sat quietly. He listened as Fury went on about the Avengers Initiative and the good they could have done together. He ground his teeth, but said nothing. He had played his part, but it wasn't over yet. Tony stood and walked out silently.

He traversed the corridors in quick strides, needing to see where Phil had died. Rogers appeared from the corridor not long after and asked if Phil had had anyone and he answered without a thought.

"There was a cellist."

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He should have waited. We could have helped him."

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

"We. Are not. Soldiers." Tony punctuated each of his words with a jab at the Captain's chest; he did not want to be a soldier again. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"It doesn't matter. We need to finish this fight. We need to stop Loki." Tony shook his head, the movement allowing him to catch sight of Coulson's blood staining the wall. That was when he realized.

"He made it personal."

"That's not the point."

"That IS the point. That's Loki's point! He hit us all right where it hurt. Why?

"To tear us apart."

"Yeah. Divide and conquer is great, but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? THAT'S what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience.

"Like his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah , that was the preview. This, this the the final scene. He wants the applause and the parades. He wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered…" _Son of a bitch._ Loki was going to destroy everything he had done to make Stephen proud. Tony turned sharply to Rogers. "We need to get to my building in New York."

Some quick repairs to his suit and Tony was flying ahead of the others and asking Selvig to turn it off; he was denied. When a direct approach failed, he swooped down to land smoothly on his disassembly pad. His eyes stayed on Loki as he calmly stood at the bar Tony made himself a drink, grabbed the wristbands for the incomplete Mark 7, and walked up to the madman in his living room.

"Are you going to appeal to my humanity?"

"Nope. Just going to threaten you actually."

"You should have left your armor on then."

"Well, its kinda beat up, and you have the glow stick of destiny over there." He waves his scotch at it, making sure Loki knew just what he thought of the scepter. "Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"Threatening. You sure you don't want a drink?"

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that." He couldn't stop the frown, thankful that Loki was facing away. _Was Loki not in charge of the coming army?_ "What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers. It's what we call ourselves. Sorta like Earth's mightiest heroes."

"Yes. I've met them."

"Takes us a bit to get going, I'll give you that. But we outnumber you."

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk. But the point is that there is no version of this where you come out on top." Loki stalked up to him, and Tony used every bit of nerve he had ever had in his lives to not move an inch as the scepter was raised. And clinked. _Clinked? Ha ha good ole reactor!_ Loki's frown had him laughing inside. "Performance anxiety there?"

And then he was out the window.

"JARVIS! DEPLOY!"

 _Shit...shit!The ground is RISING!_

 _SHIT SHIT SHIT...The hell?_

 _Was he slowing?_

 _Was he glowing?_

Tony was just turning his head to try and see the larger glow coming from his left when he felt the suit building around him, further slowing his fall. It had been a little close for his comfort, and he lurched around full circle, hoping but failing, to see anything that could have caused the golden glow.

Tony put it from his mind and rose back up to face Loki head on starting with firing his repulser to throw the god across the room. A boom sounding from above diverted his attention up to to where a red-caped figure stood on the building. Oh, good. Thor had arrived. Tony could have sworn the cape was a brighter red before though. And... _uh oh_. That was not good.

Above his tower, a beam of blue light had struck the sky and opened a dark portal. Horrific figures poured out and spread across the sky. Loki's army had arrived. Tony rocketed up, past Thor, to start taking on the enemy soldiers.

"Sir, I am reading unusual energy signature below the portal."

"Is it from the device?"

"Negative, Sir."

"Shit, did they get past me already?" No. They had not. Instead, the figure he had thought to be Thor was creating large circular disks of golden light that rose to help direct the Chitauri soldiers into a smaller area. He had no idea who it was, but they were helping, and Tony was glad to have their aid in the fight.

"Stark, we're on your three, heading east."

"Did you stop for drive-thru? Swing up Park; we're going to lay them out for you." Tony ignored the questioning, " _We?"_ on the com and gestured to the not-Thor figure, pointing at the Chitauri and then the road until the disks moved to give the Chitauri only one direction to go. Now it was time to play follow the leader.

The quinjet took out a good amount but Jarvis informed him that they had more incoming. Back into the fray Tony charged, firing almost before he could aim and taking down as many as he could. He swung in low enough to land briefly and confer with Rogers and ask about Banner. They had to figure out how to close the portal, but still needed to stop the device, which Selvig had said was self sustaining and protected by some sort of energy barrier.

Tony took a glance at one of the...whale things, ready to take off and destroy it, but not-Thor took it out of the game with a large golden portal that cut it in half. One half fell to the ground with a _thud,_ while the other half disappeared through the closed portal. That was great. He hoped they would be able to keep that up, but a glance showed the shadowy figure staggering, doubled over. Was that...

SHIT!

Where the hell had that guy come from?! Tony dispatched the trio of bikers and kept going. He was dimly aware of the other discussing trapped civilians, Banner finally arriving, and Loki's position, but really only started listening when Rogers had him go to keep the perimeter while Thor went to join the figure.

"Who is that?"

"They're a friend, Captain. They're on our side." Tony was confident in their ability to keep up fighting and keep them contained so they could keep up the fight long enough to close the portal. Selvig abruptly came on the com and let them know that the scepter could get through the barrier. Natasha was on it, and Tony knew they could do it; they could win this.

And then Fury came on the line.


	14. Chapter 14

"Stark! You hear me? You have a missile headed straight for the city."

"How long?"

"Three minutes. Max. The payload will wipe out Midtown."

"Jarvis, put everything we got into the thrusters."

"I just did." He jetted away from the city and toward the new oncoming threat.

"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down." Natasha's words were both a blessing and a curse to his ears.

"Do it!"

"No! Cap, Natasha, I got a nuke coming in, and I know just where to put it." Tony came up under the missile and took over its trajectory. He guided it up towards the open portal, dodging the golden disks blocking the way and shot through the wormhole.

 _Silence._

There was his breath and nothing else.

Jarvis flickered out, and he was alone.

His breath stuttered, eyes watering as he took in the vast army before him.

His oxygen was getting low, a black haze beginning to creep over his vision.

And then...

A golden rope came over him and tugged Tony back as he gave into the darkness.

…

…

…

Jolting awake with the echo of Hulk's roar still vibrating through him, Tony felt only relief; he was still in this life. Still lacking the love of his life, but not lacking his life.

He looked up at his teammates.

Steve.

Bruce.

Thor.

Stephen.

Natasha.

Hawkeye.

...

Stephen?

Tony stared at the figure kneeling just a couple feet to his left. His vision began to blur again and his throat was so tight as he struggled to say a single word.

"Stephen?"

"Hello, Tony." He sobbed violently, body jerking up from the asphalt and driving daggers of pain into his ribs. But Stephen was there. Pushing him back down with Rogers on the other side, looking worried but wary of this stranger in their midst.

"Tony, do you know this guy?"

"Know him? Cap, I love him. I have a ring picked out for him." Stephen blushed and looked almost heartbroken at his words.

"Tony, I'm so sorry I left."

"Shut up." Everyone around him blinked in surprise. "Captain. Do you guys got this? I have something important, something private, to speak about with this guy."

"Uh, yeah, You...you're dismissed." Tony levered himself to his feet (okay so Jarvis got him to his feet), and took Stephen's arm, leading him away from the others, all the while incredibly aware of eyes boring into the back of his skull. He got them as far as around the nearest building corner before he threw his arms around the other man, pulling him into a tight embrace. Stephen buried his nose in Tony's hair and the pair let go; weeping for the time lost, and releasing all of the pent-up fear to be replaced with relief. _Stephen was alive._

Tony wasn't sure how long they stood there, just clutching at each other and feeling the other breathe but, eventually, they had to move. A quinjet flew past and they separated slowly, wiping their eyes and looking at each other. Stephen's hand cradling Tony's face and were shaking like a leaf. And Tony...Tony was looking at his Stephen. His Stephen who had somehow become his _old_ Stephen.

Stephen's hair bore the silver streaks he had watched the stars glint of high in the clouds. His hands were shaking and covered in those hideous yellow gloves he had vowed to burn. And his clothes, those robes...Tony knew how to take those robes off, and he knew how to stroke the fluttering cloak with a gentle hand as it would do anything to protect its master.

"St…" Tony swallowed hard before he could try again. "Stephen. Why?"

"I'm so sorry Tony. I had so stupidly answered the phone in the car, and then I was waking up in the hospital and my hands were destroyed. I couldn't be a doctor anymore. I…I wasn't good enough for you anymore. I…" Tony crushed the babbling man back against him, a hand at the base of his skull pressing him close so he could whisper quietly.

"Stephen. Your soul was the only thing I had ever cared about." He felt Stephen jerk against him, sobbing almost violently from the emotion in his words, but Tony continued. "I have always loved you, Stephen. I will love you until the universe itself decides to end me. I. Love. You."

"I love you." The words were tiny in their utterance but strong with emotion and Tony pressed his eyes shut against the burning stream of tears. They stayed in their embrace, the cloak wrapping itself around them as they swayed gently together until Tony's com chimed.

"Stark. You are needed at the debrief aboard the carrier. Bring your… _friend_ with you."

"Heh, I don't think _Steve_ likes you, Stephen." The man pulled away just enough to raise his head to look at Tony.

"I haven't even met him."

"I'll-we'll be right there Cap." Tony gently thumbed away the lingering tears on Stephen's face and pressed a delicate kiss upon his nose, glad to see Stephen's eyes crinkled in happy laughter. They were together.

Fury was not happy about this impromptu addition to the team but Thor's jubilant proclamations of Stephen's 'great magic wielded against the enemy' granted him, at least a temporary, pass. Tony finally learned of Selvig getting free of the mind control, and the information he had given that had allowed their win. Tony tried to give the room as much attention as he could but really he only had attention for the hand in his, held tight under the edge of the table. He didn't even realize they had been dismissed until Stephen was tugging him up and out of the room.

"Tony, let's go home."

He would like to say that had been it. That they returned to the tower, now woefully in need of repair, and that it was like they had never been apart.

But this was reality. And the truth was, that they were nearly strangers again. Tony had his experiences with Obadiah and the torture he had been through and Stephen; Stephen had darkness lurking in the back of his eyes that brought screams in the night. An endless chanting that he remembered… _Dormammu, I've come to bargain._ Stephen had refused to tell him then, and he refused now. He should have known.


	15. Chapter 15

They tried, they tried so hard but they didn't fit any longer. They passed like strangers in the halls, Tony feeling out of sorts and unsure of how it could be that his old Stephen was here but unknowing. And Stephen, he looked so unsure of himself when they ran into each other. Tony loved Stephen, and told him so every chance he got. And while Stephen felt the same… it was though they were never in the same time period. Tony was stuck on how Stephen looked like his old Stephen and Stephen was stuck in the past, and feeling as though he was a fraud with the way Tony was looking at him.

But the universe must have thought Tony was being ungrateful.

For a magic user came.

A little punk going by Zoltar.

Too big for his britches and cocky in his spell casting.

Thor called down thunder, thinking to overwhelm.

Stephen was trying to talk the guy down.

And him?

He was watching, keeping an eye on everything and was given a front row seat as the universe decided to screw him over once and for all.

Stephen hovered in the air, magic swirling about him, the Eye of Agamotto about his neck as lightning flashed about them.

He was magnificent in his aura of power and calm knowledge until a bolt of lightning turned in mid-air.

And struck him square in the chest.

If he screamed, Tony did not hear it over his own.

And then.

He was gone.

The skies cleared as Thor became a statue in his shock.

He fell to his knees where a wisp of greenish smoke was all that showed his love had been taken from him.

He doesn't know what happened to Zoltar. He hardly remembers getting home and out of the suit.

He was dead, and just not fallen yet.

This time there would not be a miraculous return.

For there was nothing to return from.

No injury to heal and come home from.

Only death.

And Tony wept.

His days became a monotonous waiting game. Watching the clock slowly tick closer to his death.

He slept. That at least gave him his memories, and nightmares, and let time flow just a little faster.

Days went by.

Then weeks.

And months.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Waking to thunder had Tony wondering when Jane had arrived, until he remembered that she and Thor had gone to Asgard for the next week. "Jarvis? What is the weather report for this thunderstorm?"

"It is 1:14 am, and current weather is a calm 76 degrees and clears skies are expected for the next three days."

"Come on Jarvis, I just heard thunder. Check the cameras would ya? See if we need to warn the others."

"There was a lightning strike approximately 2.3 minutes ago 15 feet from the East wall of the tower. I am reading unusual energy fluctuations that are preventing me from scanning what appears to be a man."

Although Tony lacked any real interest in meeting some stranger in the middle of the night, and possibly starting a fight, he promptly rose and donned a pair of underwear before activating the armor. _Maybe the intruder would kill him and give him another life of chance_. He quickly made his way through and out the building, HUD showing a dark shape, a human with their back to him...and kneeling? He called out a, "Hey!" but received not even the barest reaction. Tony and landed soundlessly on the damp lawn, and walked up behind the figure.

"Hey buddy, was that you with the whole lightning strike? Burning up my lawn?" the jovial tone of his voice belied the careful steps he took until he made it to the figure and bent to look at their face. "Unusual way to start a fire under me don't yo…."

It was Stephen; Tony would never mistake those silvery streaks and freckle behind the left ear. The cloak, he hadn't recognized the color in this half-light, lay limply about its master who was curled forward, face in his hands, and trembling. "Stephen?" Tony laid a hand upon one shoulder and felt the sobs increase in strength, struggling to make out that Stephen was speaking. "Stephen, I can't hear what you are saying."

Stephen shuddered mightily and finally lowered his hands to raise his head and look at Tony with eyes that held far more than they ever had before. "Tony, I am so sorry…I didn't mean to leave you alone...I love you so much….I'm so sorry, Antonious…so many years alone...waiting for me...I don't deserve you...Tony..." The mantra continued in shaky breaths along with the cascade of tears that fell with every syllable. Stephen looked down at his hands as he wept and Tony found his eyes drawn to the silver and copper ring that adorned his hand, he knew that ring, had bought that ring, had….

"My Stephen, my love. This is what you could not tell me." Tears began to fall from his own eyes, distorting his vision and threatening to cut off his speech. "This is why you were not meant to be there. The Eye did this. You were in the wrong time. You met the wrong me at the wrong place."

"Yes, yes, Tony. I am so sorry."

"Don't. Don't tell me you are sorry for giving me such love and joy those months. I pretty much died as soon as you left. Rome fell and I fell with it." He started when Stephen's tears increased at that and the other man wailed.

"That was me! I was one of the invaders. I helped Rome burn. I helped kill you. Me. I killed you." Tony cradled Stephen's head in his hands, pressing kisses to every inch he could reach and said the last coherent thing that would come from either of them the rest of the night.

"And now you have brought me back to life."

Rogers shrieked like a teenage girl when he saw them the next morning, sprawled on the lawn without a stitch on. Only the cloak kept them even slightly decent. But the rude awakening was one he didn't mind in the least. For as he turned to Stephen, their years together reflected in his eyes, Tony could only praise the gods. For the time was finally right for them.


End file.
